Something Out of Nothing

I finally watched the Mysterious Stranger movie that I rediscovered the other day. I don’t know why I was hesitant to see it again; finding it felt like the last piece of a puzzle and I guess I didn’t want to place it and be done. I remember so much of the movie so clearly. Some parts of it were even ideas I thought I had come up with myself, I had forgotten that they were part of the story. I remember watching The Miracle Worker on TV and empathizing so strongly with Helen Keller that I had a bit of an existential crisis. I was eight years old and I had my first glimpse of mortality and human limitations, but also rising above those limitations. The Mysterious Stranger had an existential message as well, but it was more subtle, it didn’t cause the same type of crisis in me anyway; maybe because I’d already confronted that reality a few years earlier.

Mark Twain’s tale has an interesting story itself. He had written three different versions, but never published them. After he died, the person that held Twain’s unpublished manuscripts, Albert Bigelow Paine, combined bits and pieces from all three versions into a book and published it as the story that Twain had intended. In 1963, scholars discovered what Paine had done and that he had heavily edited and added his own writing into the mix. In fact, the movie talks a little bit about this in the opening. The movie is based on the most complete version that Twain has written.

In it, Number 44, New Series 864,962, (also known as Satan, nephew of the fallen angel Satan in some version of the story) comes to an Austrian medieval print shop in the form of a ball of light before manifesting into a human form. He proceeds to befriend an apprentice named August and shares with him the true nature of reality all while causing hijinks at the castle. There’s a manipulative alchemist, a greedy wife, the good-hearted master, an out of shape abbot, and the print shop crew, one of which is played by a young Christoph Waltz!

Twain, through Number 44, talks about the folly of religion, the nature of good and evil and reality itself. He talks about the idea that there are two selves, a dream self and a working self. We have the ability to choose which one to focus on, or to be.

I can see why the movie had such a profound impact on me and why I’ve been fascinated by existentialism for most of my life. I didn’t know it at the time, but I’m sure it’s part of why I choose philosophy as my major in college. I have always spent a lot of time thinking. It can sometimes get me into trouble, but most of the time it serves me well.

If you’re interested, there has been quite a bit written about the stories and what Mark Twain was trying to communicate through them. Here’s an article I plan to spend more time with.

We have a few concerts lined up over the next few months. There is nothing live seeing a band or musician you like perform live. We’re going to see Iron and Wine in a couple of weeks at the Uptown Theater.

I’m also going to the Record Bar in May to see another favorite Messer Chups.

Small update: I forgot to mention the Nick Cave show I’m going to in May. I’ve seen him once before, he’s a fantastic musician with heartfelt lyrics. His latest Album, Wild God, is excellent.

There are many movies that had a significant impact on me when I was a kid. My dad would often let my brother and I watch movies that we were in no way appropriate for our age - The Exorcist) gave me so many nightmares. Two movies however, have a special, weird place in my mind. I’ve searched for years to find the names of the movies, I’ve had distinct memories from both, but I couldn’t find anything about them. Though the internet and social media can be pretty toxic these days, they can also drop little bits of joy as well. Several years ago, I decided to make a concerted effort to figure out what these movies were. After a lot of digging, I finally found one, a post-apocalyptic survival movie Damnation Alley. I’m fairly certainly a scene in this movie is the source of my aversion to cockroaches. I distinctly remember someone getting eated alive in an old car by giant cockroaches. It was released in 1977, so I would have been six at the time. I remember my dad picked up my brother and I for one of our first post-divorce outings with him. He took us to see Damnation Alley in the theater. Shortly after I rediscovered it, my wife and I streamed it; it was pretty bad but so entertaining and gratifying to fill that memory gap.

The other movie has eluded me for years, until today. I was doomscrolling Instagram Reels and came across a clip from an old movie with a young Tom Hanks about D&D, Mazes and Monters when I recognized one of the other actors, Chris Makepeace. I looked up Mazes and Monsters on IMDB and found Chris’ profile, then searched for his other early movies and found the movie that I’ve been searching for as long as I can remember! It’s a made for TV movie, released in 1982, when I was eleven. It had a huge impact on me; I remember feeling excited by the concept of romantic love and true friendship. I’m sure it impacted my psyche; part of why I’m such a hopeless romantic. Life is supposed to mean something, even if it’s self-defined. Watching bits of it now takes me back - I remember the characters like it was yesterday! It was based, very loosely on a Mark Twain Novella of the same name, The Mysterious Stranger.

It’s so strange and cool that both movies are available in full out there on the internet. I’ve been searching for the Mysterious Stranger for so long, I’m a little blown away that I came across it so randomly today! It’s like the last puzzle piece fitting into place. Now I need to find a new mystery to obsess about.

I just finished reading “The Butcher’s Masquerade” by Matt Dinniman 📚

A good friend of mine recommended the Dungeon Crawler Carl series and I was hooked from the first chapter of the first book. I just finished book five while walking my dogs this morning and I was cracking up and tearing up at the same time! The audiobooks are so entertaining, the voice acting and sound effects are great! Jeff Hays from Soundbooth Theater provides the majority of the narration. If you enjoyed Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, you’ll love the Dungeon Crawler Carl series.

Now on to Book six “The Eye of the Bedlam Bride”.

Another year older. This morning when I got up, I decided that would hike up Sun Mountain at sunrise; it was simply gorgeous. It’s definitely a challenging hike. It’s only about a mile and a half, but it can get pretty steep. I had to pause several times to catch my breath; I’m still acclimating to the higher altitude here. It’s also about a mile from where we’re staying so I decided to walk to the trail head. The walk there is fine, but I was pretty worn out on the way back. It was totally worth the effort! the views of Santa Fe and the surrounding mountains are amazing. I hiked to the peak once before, last time we stayed here and it was equally beautiful.

I’m enjoying some fresh pipe tobacco from a local shop I found and reading Fevre Dream on the patio or our B and B. Trying to not think about work. Most of the museums we wanted to are closed today, so we decided to take it easy. Maura’s inside painting, listening to music. Maybe it’s a hint of what retirement might look like!

Three months ago today, we adopted a second dog from KC Pet Project. Our other dog, Rosie is a little neurotic; she doesn’t like to be home alone. She also loves to play with other dogs. So we thought getting her a friend would suit us all. Rosie and Gus hit it off pretty quickly. They love to play and cuddle and make the most adorable pair. We frequently receive compliments when we walk them.

The folks at KC Pet Project told us about the three days, three weeks, three months rule with adopted dogs, which has proven pretty accurate. In the last week or so, Gus has finally realized this is a permanent place for him. He seems very happy in his new home, and we are thrilled to have him be a part of our family. Welcome home, Gus! 

We’ve been trying to see one of our favorite bands, Low, who were touring for their latest album, "Hey What,” until very recently. Maura bought me tickets to see them in Davenport, Iowa, for my birthday. We drove up, excited to finally hear some tracks off their latest album live, and the show was canceled due to COVID-19. We had a fun time in Davenport anyway, but it was a huge bummer. The show was rescheduled, and we planned to return to Davenport; we even booked the hotel, and we both came down with COVID. We found out they were finally going to come to Kansas City, opening for Death Cab for Cutie (weird match-up, in my opinion, but whatever). We bought tickets, but that show was postponed, and Low was no longer going to open. It seemed like we just weren’t meant to see them again! We did see them once several years ago at the old Record Bar when it was in Westport (we could walk home from there!) But the latest album was simply stunning; I still get chills and tear up when I listen to it. And I can’t help but turn it up a little too loud.

Alan Sparhawk’s and Mimi Parker’s harmonies over the cacophonous instrumentation and drums were, well, kind of beyond words. I really can’t do the albums justice here. It may not be for everyone, but I LOVED where they were going. Don’t get me wrong, they were (were! 😔) prolific; they didn’t create an album I didn’t like. You definitely have to be in the right mood for some of their early stuff, it can be very slow-paced, but it’s just as beautiful. The latest albums were getting a little more gritty and experimental, which contrasted wonderfully with their voices. Go ahead, listen and listen loud. I bet you will be moved. 

Sadly, we will never have the chance to see them perform live again; Mimi Parker died today after having fought ovarian cancer for the last couple of years. Alan posted the news and was instantly heartbroken. Partly because we’ve been trying so hard to see them over the last year or so, but primarily for her and Alan. I can’t even imagine what they went through and what he’s going through now. They worked so well together. Their music is beautiful, incomparable; there will be nothing like it in the world again. I love listening to their records via streaming, but live music was the true experience. That’s true for most musicians, but it was especially true for them. Farewell, Mimi Parker, and deepest condolences to you, Alan Sparhawk. Know that your fans are there for you.